The Hidden Alpha
by strike3youdie
Summary: Red Flag has a new master plan. The team has a new Alpha. What the team doesn't know is that the two may be related. Can they uncover the plot before it's too late? Or will they lose everything? Rated T for violence.
1. The Friend

Gary Bell woke up on Monday, prepping for work. A quick look at the clock showed that Gary had about an hour before Dr. Rosen and the team showed up to take him to the office in Queens. He sat up in his bed, the images of multiple wireless signals already assaulting him. As he dressed, he flicked through them, the information that only he could see.

"Gary!" his mother yelled from upstairs, "Are you up? Dr. Rosen will be here in an hour."

"Yes, mom," Gary answered, walking into the bathroom. He continued flicking through the signals, brushing his teeth. He was too absorbed to notice his mother walking into the bathroom with a glass of water. His mom tapped him, pointing to the glass. Gary felt it. "It's too cold, mom. You know I don't like my water too cold. I can't rinse with this!" Giving a dejected sigh, his mom took the glass back to the kitchen to refill it with less-cold cold water. She brought it back up a moment later, the perfect temperature.

Gary rinsed and went downstairs, where a bowl of cereal was waiting for him. He poured the milk from a cup and ate, still flicking through the signals. One signal in particular stood out: a road map of his neighborhood, with a red dot pulling onto his street. He quickly downed his milk and turned to his mother. "Dr. Rosen's here," he told her, giving her a hug and heading out the door.

When Gary got outside, Nina opened the van door for him and he got in. Dr. Rosen turned around in his seat, facing Gary. "Hello Gary," he said kindly. Dr. Rosen was always kind.

Already knowing the answer, Gary asked politely, "Dr. Rosen, may I please drive?" He flashed his best attempt at puppy dog eyes, which probably came across as stupidly pathetic, but he didn't care. He wanted to drive.

"Absolutely not," Dr. Rosen said firmly.

Darn it! Gary thought . My transducing isn't that much of a distraction. He decided he'd give up. For now. Instead of trying to convince Dr. Rosen to let him drive, he sat calmly in his seat, turning to stare out his side window.

To his surprise, someone was staring back, from the house across the street.

The man quickly pulled the curtains back shut, worried. The transducer had seen him.

The man had been watching those Alphas for months, by orders of the mysterious woman he worked for. This had been the first time any of them had seen him. The whole operation was at stake. He had to call his boss.

He walked through his house, stopping at the small room he used as an office. He picked up the encrypted cell phone and the micro-USB cord that went with it. He plugged one end of the cord into the phone the other into his encrypted laptop. On his laptop, he opened a program simply labeled RED FLAG. What came up was a sort of translator, designed by the leader of Red Flag to make her messages understandable.

Fingers trembling, he picked up the cell phone and dialed the number. It rang for a moment until the ringing finally gave way to audio. To anyone else, what came through the phone would sound like nothing more than crackles and scratches. But he had the cord, which took the audio from the cell phone and ran it through the translation program, creating a stream of clear, understandable audio. The voice was that of a young female, the leader of Red Flag, who had gotten to know the transducer pretty well a few months ago.

"Hello, associate," the voice said, emotionless and cold.

"Hello," the man answered.

"I hope you have some interesting news for me. I would very much like to know how your new hobby is going."

The man took a deep breath, preparing to tell her the bad news that may get him fired. "Today, as I was watching the Alphas, one of them, the transducer, saw me." The man stood silent, waiting for the words…

"Excellent," said his boss, causing the man to gasp in shock. "Very excellent indeed. This signifies the time to put our master plan in action. Tell me, has our friend been cooperative?"

"He has told nothing that we didn't already know, but I can make him talk."

"Do it," his boss replied. "I'll be in touch. Don't screw up again. Got it?"

"Yes," the man replied, hanging up the phone and closing down the laptop. It was time to pay their friend a little visit.

The basement door was unlocked. The man opened it, stalking down the stairs to give the prisoner trapped down there a little surprise.

"Who's there?" asked a voice, shaky and frightened. "Who's there? I'll kill you, I swear it!"

The man laughed coldly, still not showing his face. "Now, now, Mr. Wilson, I think we both know that won't happen. You're not an Alpha like me."

"You're not an Alpha. You're an evil monster!" Don Wilson screamed defiantly.

"I'm not an Alpha? Let's test that statement, shall we?" The man raised his hands, willing his Alpha ability to stream through them. It did. Don Wilson was restrained in two handcuffs that were connected to generators. The man used his Alpha ability to control the electricity within the generators, which traveled through the metal handcuffs, giving Don Wilson a 10,000-volt shock. The man held it for a moment, letting it sink in. Then he lowered his hands, shutting off the electric flow.

"Now, Mr. Wilson, hopefully you have learned not to play games with me. Tell me about those Alphas, or so help me God I will give you the shock of a lifetime. Who knows, I may even let you go."

Five minutes later, Don Wilson had spilled his guts. It was time to put the plan in action. As the man walked up the stairs, Wilson screamed, "You said you would let me go!"

The man chuckled. "I said I may let you go. Listen more carefully next time."

With that, the door slammed shut.


	2. Developments

Gary was sitting in his office, filtering through all his signals, when the call for the meeting came. It was Rachel who delivered the news, knocking on his door. "Come in!" Gary yelled. Rachel came in, sitting carefully down on his desk.

"Dr. Rosen called a meeting. Apparently there's a new Alpha, and some new developments involving Red Flag," Rachel said.

"When's the meeting?"

"Right now, actually. Come on." Gary stood up, escorting Rachel out the door politely, and then following after her to the conference room where Rosen held his meetings. When they got there, there was a new person sitting down, someone they'd never seen before. He was tall, with shaved black hair and a chin full of stubble. He eyed Gary and Rachel with curiosity, but only for a moment.

Rachel sat down at her normal seat, but Gary's was taken by the man. "Hey, you're in my seat." Gary said. The man looked like he was about to say something, but Dr. Rosen cut him off.

"Gary, please. Let's be reasonable here. There's another seat right there at the end of the table." Rosen pointed to an empty seat, next to Bill. Bill looked up at Gary and gave a sly smile.

Gary conceded, saying, "I'm getting my seat back next time," as he sat down.

"Whatever, Gary." Dr. Rosen ended the argument, clearing his throat to start the meeting.

"As I'm sure you've all noticed, we have a new Alpha." He gestured to the man in Gary's chair. "This is Andrew Thompson, a hyperelectric."

Bill raised his hand. "What's a hyperelectric?"

"I made the name up," Dr. Rosen said. "Basically it works like this: In our bodies, we all have electricity. It runs through our nerves, sending signals to the rest of the body. Andrew here has extra electricity that, since his nerves already have all the electricity they need, can be controlled to flow out of the body in invisible waves. These invisible waves chain off of already-existent electricity, allowing it to be controlled. It's quite extraordinary. There's never been an Alpha ability like it."

Bill raised his hand again. "Why is he here?" he asked.

"Because he has information about Red Flag," Dr. Rosen said. "Tell them, Andrew."

Andrew stood up. "A few months ago, I was captured by Red Flag. They wanted to use my Alpha ability for their cause. In time, I escaped, and came to find you guys. When I was captured, I heard the leaders of Red Flag talking about initiating a grand plan. They've been putting pawns in place for a while now, and they're ready to engage it when you make one false move. They have snitches set up all over the place, and they talked about a "friend" who had information about your whole operation. You are in danger, and I came to warn you and help you."

There was silence throughout the room. Andrew sat back down. The only one not in shock was Dr. Rosen, who had obviously heard the news earlier.

Andrew stood up again. "Oh, and there was an address thrown around in all of Red Flag's discussions, an address for a base of operations in New York. That's where they took the "friend". They said it was across the street from someone named Bell."

Dr. Rosen hadn't heard this news. He immediately began hustling all of the Alphas, including Andrew, into the van to find the Red Flag base of operations. On the way, he began outlining their plan: Gary would stay in the van and try to pick up some Red Flag chatter, Rosen, Andrew, and Rachel would move into the basement to get the "friend" out, and Bill and Nina would try to find another way into the basement in case things went all screwy.

They got to the house, and all Alphas, except Gary, got a 9-milimeter handgun. They went the ways they needed to go, with Rosen, Rachel, and Andrew storming through the front door and looking for the basement. They found it quickly, and sent Andrew down first to electrically overload any comms equipment. After that was done, the three shone their flashlights throughout the basement, looking for the "friend". At the back of the basement, they found something so shocking, they were speechless.

Anna holding a handgun to Don Wilson's head and pulling the trigger.


	3. Escape

As the shock of witnessing the death of his good friend Don Wilson set in, Dr. Rosen wanted to ensure the death of Anna. Trembling, he raised the 9-milimeter to Anna, who looked up with curiosity at him. Her look quickly turned to faint, almost infinitesimal fear when Dr. Rosen pulled back the lever. Rachel whispered in his ear.

"You know you wouldn't pull that trigger. Even if it meant your life, or the life of someone you loved."

Dr. Rosen sighed. "Yes, but Anna doesn't know that. Let's keep it that way."

Anna strode over to a table in the corner of the room. On it were the items she used to communicate, along with an open laptop. She rubbed her fingers across a brush-like object, and suddenly, a disembodied female voice spoke through the computer.

"If you shoot me, they shoot you, Dr. Rosen."

"Who's they?"

Anna clapped her hands and a heavily-armed group of Red Flag soldiers stepped out of the shadows, surrounding Rosen, Rachel, and Andrew. They aimed their machine guns, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Anna rubbed her hand again across the brush. The computer voice spoke again. "Drop your weapons, all of you, now. And tell Bill and Nina to stop being uncooperative." Through the door on the other side of the basement, two armed soldiers escorted Bill and Nina, who were each thrashing about, trying in vain to escape from the vise-like grip of the guards.

"Bill, Nina," Dr. Rosen chided. "Just do as they say. We'll find some way to get out of this. I promise."

Anna laughed. The computer voice spoke again. "I'm afraid you won't be able to Houdini your way out of this one. Tell me, where is the transducer? Where is Gary? Hmm?"

"Safe," Dr. Rosen said.

"Or perhaps, in your van parked out by the curb?" the computer spoke.

Rosen knew that he had been beat. He was about to admit his bluff when something came to mind. A codeword for an escape plan the Alphas had worked out in the van on the way. "Bill, Nina, Rachel, Andrew, Gary," he said over the earpieces the Alphas were equipped with, "engage Epsilon Bravo Alpha." He couldn't see it, but he knew Bill was engaging his enhanced strength until he had enough to fight off the guards.

What happened next took only a moment. Bill swung a kick to the guard that was holding him, and then punched the one holding Nina. The distraction created by this bought enough time for the Alphas to retrieve their handguns. Having gained the upper hand, they began to use all their strength to fight off the guards. After the conflict, Andrew and Bill had machine guns, and all of them ran out to the van, which Gary had started up.

The team filed in, Rachel between Bill and Andrew, who were aiming their machine guns out their respective side windows, and Dr. Rosen and Nina aiming their handguns out the rear window.

"Drive, Gary," Dr. Rosen said.

"Are you sure?" Gary sounded nervous.

"DRIVE!" everyone yelled at once. Gary shoved the gear shift forward, putting the van in drive. He put the petal to the metal, and the van began tearing down the neighborhood drive.

The four with guns in the back where holding off the large groups of Red Flag soldiers, who were chasing after them in black Town Cars. They, too had guns.

"Where to?" Gary asked, driving unconfidently through the neighborhood.

"Head back to the office," Dr. Rosen answered. "By the time we get there we will have gotten rid of them."

And so it was. Gary maneuvered the van haphazardly through Queens to the office, and Bill, Andrew, Rosen, and Nina managed to get rid of all their pursuers by shooting all of the car tires. The van sped to a stop in front of the office, and the team took a moment to catch their breath.

Cameron, whom they had left behind to man the fort, ran out to meet them. He asked how the operation had gone, and the team told him what happened in the conference room. After the story was done, the team sat in silence for a moment, until Dr. Rosen spoke up.

"We have to be more careful from now on. Clearly, this plan of theirs is of the utmost importance. Which means they will do anything to see that it is accomplished. Anything, including killing every last one of us."


	4. The Turn

Dr. Rosen took Gary home that night. He got into bed and tried to get to sleep, but he was plagued by the signals, and by images of Anna. Seeing her today had been the first time in a long time, since he had first met her. She had become his friend, the only person who understood his autism and social awkwardness. Then she went and screwed it all up with those fateful words:

"I don't work for them. They work for me."

She was the leader of Red Flag. It had been like a collision with a train for Gary. Then she tried to recruit him. That was where he felt torn. He believed her cause, but at the same time he was sworn to Dr. Rosen and the team. She overloaded his brain with signals and left him on the floor in pain.

He hadn't felt the same after that.

He had managed to forget about it, to immerse himself in his work. But seeing Anna today… it had awakened feelings in him, bringing him back to that last day with Anna. He tried to push the thoughts out of his head, but he soon found himself searching through the many signals he had, seeking out Anna. As luck would have it, she was still across the street.

Moving quietly and ninja-like through the house, he walked out the front door to the house across the street. The house that served as the base of operations for Red Flag. He walked around to the back, through the door that led into the basement.

When he got in, he called out, "Anna? Are you here?"

No answer.

"Anna! Hello? Anyone?"

A computerized voice spoke. "I'm in here, Gary."

Gary followed the voice into a small room. The body and blood of Don Wilson still lay in the floor. Gary resisted the urge to cringe.

He turned to Anna. "I've been thinking a lot about what you said. I've come to join you. I've come to join Red Flag, if you'll take me."

Anna nodded, stroking the brush that she used to communicate. The computer spoke.

"Certainly. Welcome to Red Flag, Gary Bell."

Gary nodded. Only he knew of the plan he had conceived just a little bit ago. Step one was complete: he had been accepted into Red Flag. Now come the next part: bring Red Flag crumbling down from the inside.


	5. Infiltration

Dr. Lee Rosen woke up to his phone ringing. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and answered it.

At the other end of the line was a hysterical Ms. Bell. What she said stirred Dr. Rosen to get ready at the speed of a cheetah on steroids.

"Rosen, Gary's missing." 

He practically ran into his clothes and sprinted outside to the van, calling the rest of the team as he did so. When they asked where to go, he told them what he believed to be true: that Gary had joined Anna and Red Flag. He told them to meet at the house they had gone to yesterday. When he was done calling, he sped the van through New York to get to Gary's neighborhood. His mind was reeling with possibilities.

He made it to Gary's neighborhood in record time- less than ten minutes. The team was already waiting out front of the house, armed with the handguns they had all been given yesterday. He gave them orders: they were all going to burst into the house, get Gary out and detain Anna. The rest of the DCIS would do the rest. He sent Nina and Rachel to cover the back exit to the basement while he, Andrew, and Bill would go in the front.

They strode up to the front door, waiting to break it down. As Bill was about done channeling the strength needed to break in, the door opened of its own accord, giving way to Anna with a handgun held to Gary's head. She also had her brush, and Gary was holding the translator laptop.

Gary looked at Dr. Rosen pleadingly. He whispered, "I'm sorry, Dr. Rosen. I thought my plan would work. The second you guys showed up she suspected. I'm sorry."

"That's okay, Gary. At least you tried.

Anna chuckled, rubbing her brush. From the computer came, "Yes, yes, we all have plans. Not many of them work, but I'm proud to say mine did. Andrew, why don't you come over here, where you really belong."

Without hesitation, Andrew strode over to Anna, aiming his handgun at Bill and Rosen.

"Andrew?" Dr. Rosen asked. "You were the plan all along?"

Andrew laughed, a menacing, coldhearted laugh. "How did you think I knew about the plan in the first place? We both knew you would never suspect the enemy to be one of your own. And we were right. You foolishly admitted me into your group, revealed secrets about all of your abilities. It was so easy."

Dr. Rosen took a moment to curse his own stupidity. Then he pleaded with Anna, "Please let Gary go. Please, Anna, there's no need for this."

Anna released her grip on Gary, tossing him to the ground like a rag doll. Then she turned to Rosen.

She stroked her brush, prompting the computer that lay on the ground with Gary.

"You really care about him, don't you doctor? Please forgive me for saying this, but he is a liability. And as with all liabilities, he must be put to rest."

Dr. Rosen knew what she was going to do. Bill charged forward to tackle her to the ground, but not before she aimed the gun and pulled the trigger…

Sending a bullet straight into Gary's chest.


	6. Revelation

Time stood still. The world was an abyss, endless and dark. The few foot distance to Gary felt like miles, miles that may be worthless to cross.

For all the Alphas, the special place in their heart that Gary held was about to become a dark abysmal void. For Dr. Lee Rosen, the place in his heart that Gary held was there for an entirely different purpose. He got to his knees, as if he were a watchman of Gary's body, the body of the boy he loved.

He had to tell him. He had to know.

He began to speak to Gary.

"Your father is truly going to regret your death," he said sorrowfully.

Gary gasped between his now-painful breaths. "I never knew my father."

Dr. Rosen nodded. "Exactly. I knew him. He was an Alpha, like you. A transducer. When he found out your mom was pregnant, he prayed to God and all the gods that have ever been that you wouldn't be tortured by the same thing that had tortured him since birth."

Rosen let everything sink in for a moment, then continued. "You were born. You were the cutest-looking little thing he had ever seen. He loved you. Throughout the first few months of your life, you were just a normal child. Then, you began to seem disconnected. You cried often, even when there was nothing to cry about. Your father knew what was happening. He didn't want to face it. He left your mother, went off to go back to college."

"Over time, he learned to turn his ability on and off at will. It took him years of practice, almost all of the four years he was in college. He graduated with doctorates in neurology and psychiatry. He became a doctor for people like you and him. He claimed not to have any children or spouses, but you and your mother were never, ever out of his head. He kept very mild contact with your mother. He wanted to know if you were coming into your abilities. When he fund out you were, he moved to New York."

"Once he was back in New York, he used his connections in government to start a group of crime-fighting Alphas. He recruited you, along with three other people named Nina Theroux, Bill Harken, and Rachel Pirzad. He became very protective of you. He went to pick you up at your house every morning, the one you had lived in your whole life. He started becoming friends with your mother again."

Deep inside Gary's mind, a memory, long ago and forgotten, surfaced. He was in his crib, looking up at the planes hanging over his head. His mom was making cookies. He could smell the fresh aroma of the cocoa and the slight bit of peanut butter his mom had put in the dough. He began moving around, calling out, wanting to taste instead of just smell.

Eventually, a man stepped in the room. He walked over to Gary's crib, reaching his arms in to get him out. Gary floated in midair, suspended by only two arms. He was raised up to his father's face, the face Gary's mind now attributed…

With Dr. Rosen.

"You-," Gary said, looking into Rosen's eyes.

Rosen nodded solemnly.

"Yes, Gary. I am a transducer. And your father."


	7. Sacrifice

There was a deafening silence over everyone. Even Anna and Andrew were standing stark-still. During the course of Dr. Rosen's discussion, he had secretly managed to remove the bullet from Gary and stop the bleeding. The bad part was that his heart was still slowing.

"Come on, Gary. Stay with me. Stay with me." Gary began to get more disconnected. He fought to keep his eyes closed.

"His heart's stopping! I need some paddles! I need…" he turned to look at Andrew, "electricity."

"I'll do it," Andrew said, approaching the body. "But I want your word that I will not go down for this. Anna, well… you can do what you want with her."

"I can't promise, but I will try."

Andrew nodded, bending over Gary's body. He placed his hand on the spot where Gary's heart was. He began pressing up and down, sending charges of electricity into Gary's heart much like a pair of paddles. He began to grunt in frustration.

"It's not working," Andrew said. "The electricity is leaving as quickly as it's going in. I can feel it. I need a continuous stream, with a lot of electricity."

He sent Dr. Rosen a look like that of a prison row inmate getting ready to die. Dr. Rosen lunged forward to pull Andrew's hand away from Gary, but it was too late. The hand became engulfed in a white electrical glow. Andrew was channeling every last bit of electricity in him into Gary.

He was sacrificing himself for Gary.

Now Dr. Rosen knew Andrew's thinking: he had killed a federal agent. No matter what Dr. Rosen did, he was going away for it, probably to death row. He knew how much Don Wilson had meant to the Alphas, so he figured he'd do one last redeeming deed to even the score. It was bold, courageous. It also assured that he wouldn't have to rot away in Binghamton, waiting for his inevitable execution.

The glow on Andrew's hand stayed for a moment, then it died out, and Andrew went limp, taking his final breath.

Gary sat up, rubbing his head. 'The signals, they're gone," he said joyfully.

Dr. Rosen wrapped around him in a hug. "The electricity temporarily overloaded the part of your brain that receives the signals. It's not permanent, but you've got a few days at best before they come back."

Police sirens came whirring down the road. A white cop car came to a stop in front of the house. A muscular cop stepped out of the driver's seat, handgun in hand. He approached Dr. Rosen. "Someone heard gunshots. What's going on here?"

Dr. Rosen was about to answer, but Gary stepped in front of him, wagging his DCIS badge in the cop's face.

"DCIS," he said. "You don't ask the questions. We're the only ones allowed to ask questions. We're above you."

The cop looked confused for a moment, but eventually got back in his car and drove away.

"Where's Cameron?" Gary asked.

"Right here." Cameron stepped out from behind the house.

Dr. Rosen was confused. "How did you get here?"

"I ran," Cameron said. "You took too long to get back to the office, so I got worried. I came here. Looks like I missed all the fun, though."

Gary walked over to Cameron, putting something in his hand. "The lady who owned this house did a lot of sewing. I found this in her fabric room."

Cameron looked at the object in his hand. It was a folded-up piece of fabric. He unfolded it, revealing a big **G** big enough to fit on Gary's back. He couldn't help but smile. This was Gary's way of saying that Cameron still had a promise to keep.

"You said that if I found a big G, you would sew it on a leather jacket for me. You promised."

Cameron nodded. "Lucky for you, I secretly bought a leather jacket for you. I'll go home and start sewing. Glad to see you're okay, Gary."

Gary smiled big enough to land a plane.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The DCIS came and got Anna. They carted her off to Binghamton to spend her life in a cell. They also picked up the bodies of Andrew and Don Wilson. Wilson's memorial service was scheduled for a couple months later. At Dr. Rosen's request, they combined Wilson's and Andrew's burial. He did it as a quiet favor to the man who the man who saved his son.

Dr. Rosen walked Gary across the street back to his house. He knocked on the door, and Gary's mom answered. The look on Gary's and Rosen's faces must've been revealing, for she wrapped her arms around both of them in a family hug, the first one they had ever had.

Rosen and Gary's mom stayed downstairs to catch up, but Gary went upstairs to bed.

It was the first perfectly peaceful sleep he'd ever had.

_We don't take no for an answer_

_There's no telling where we've been_

_Cause people don't understand, understand, understand_

_People don't understand_

_People like me._

THE END


End file.
